It Can’t Happen Here, Right?

You never hear much about protests in Europe on our good ‚Äėol MSM. That‚Äôs because they‚Äôre unpleasant, and show the end results of socialism. It can‚Äôt happen here right? Spain had, for example, the same overpaid, early-retirement, huge-pension public employee gravy train we have here. They‚Äôve had a welfare state and socialism for decades, and went into massive debt to fund it all. Now, the money is gone, and only a cataclysmic pile of debt remains. With no money, they are forced to begin ‚Äúausterity‚ÄĚ, their economy is collapsing, there are no jobs, and people are very upset.

They say we‚Äôre about 2 years behind Spain and Greece. Pretty soon, the debt is going to become an all consuming juggernaut (like in Europe now). Can you imagine what will happen here when ‚Äúausterity‚ÄĚ is finally started, not because anyone wants it, but because there is simply no money left to fund the welfare state and government employees? Everyone already knows about the unfunded pensions and obligations, some $70 trillion or more, which are simply austerity measures not yet enforced.

It will be very interesting, when the FSA and government parasites (the 53%) come up against financial reality. What do you think will happen when unemployment reaches 25%? Businesses are being squeezed now, and 55,000 manufacturing facilities have closed in the last decade. We just set a new record for food stamp usage and a new record for the number of people in poverty. Obamacare will result in millions of people losing their jobs or having their hours cut back. A massive increase in taxes will drive away whatever businesses are left in the U.S.

So, how do you think austerity will play out here? It is coming. Socialism has never worked anywhere in the past. Criminal politicians have learned nothing. Socialism is great until you run out of other people‚Äôs money. I‚Äôm interested to hear what you have to say.

As if we needed more proof that the course implemented by the eurocracy becomes increasingly untenable politically, millions decided to strike in several European countries this week. The demonstrations have, as they are wont to do these days, turned violent in a number places. The protests were most intense in Spain, where unemployment is at over 25% and desperation over the collapse of the bubble economy is growing by the day.

The ‚ÄėBig Picture‚Äô has brought a number of photographs of the worst clashes between protesters and police.

Der Spiegel writes:

‚ÄúMillions of Europeans joined together in general strikes and demonstrations on Wednesday to protest the strict austerity measures undertaken by their countries. In Portugal and Spain, hard hit by the debt crisis, locals conducted a 24-hour general strike that largely paralyzed public infrastructure, suspending train service and grounding hundreds of flights, in addition to shutting down factories.

Most of the protests remained peaceful, but in Madrid there were some violent clashes between demonstrators and police. Officers at Cibeles Square in the city center fired rubber bullets and used batons against protesters, reporting 34 injuries and the arrest of more than 70 protesters.

Officials warned the situation could escalate further on Wednesday night, with major protests planned for Madrid and Barcelona. A similar demonstration had also been planned for Portugal‚Äôs capital city, Lisbon.

The day of strikes had been called by organized labor across Europe as part of a ‚ÄúEuropean Day of Action and Solidarity,‚ÄĚ and similar events were staged in Italy, Greece, Belgium, Austria and France. The protesters believe that the austerity measures being taken in those countries to combat the debt crisis are worsening the recession. ‚ÄúWe‚Äôre on strike to stop these suicidal policies,‚ÄĚ said Candido Mendez, the head of Spain‚Äôs UGT union, the country‚Äôs second-biggest labor federation.‚ÄĚ

(emphasis added)

This is what happens when after decades of socialism, the money to pay for the freebies finally runs out. To be sure, this is a bit too simplistic. We are inclined to sympathize with the demonstrators for the following reason: instead of liquidating unsound credit and letting a few over-extended banks and their bondholders bite the dust, the eurocrats have decided to spread the joys of bankruptcy around and let their populations pay the bill. In most cases the poorest members of society have been hit the hardest.

Most of the people thronging the streets don‚Äôt fully understand what has happened. They don‚Äôt realize that the deadly combination of a cradle-to-grave welfare state with a centrally planned fractionally reserved banking system has produced a terminal boom and that there is simply no painless way out of the situation anymore. There never was. An enormous amount of wealth has been squandered and consumed during the boom.

There is no salvation in abandoning the euro and trying to inflate and spend oneself out of the hole that has been dug either: that would only invite an even greater economic catastrophe. However, Europe‚Äôs political and monetary elites continue to misdiagnose the problem, in many cases refuse to level with their populations and are too halfhearted in implementing reform.

What the protesters don‚Äôt seem to get: the status quo ante cannot be recreated by decree. There is no magic wand for anyone to wave. The protesters have every right to be enraged, but they are raging against something that cannot be changed at the flick of a switch ‚Äď the wealth is gone. If governments were to start on a renewed deficit spending spree, they would merely invite a greater crisis, very likely without delay. Even more government cannot be the solution for a problem that too much government has created.

Radical pro free market economic reform is called for, but this is apparently neither recognized, nor does anyone have the guts to implement it. And so the European Chinese water torture version of ‚Äėausterity‚Äô, which includes only a shrinking private sector, but not a shrinking government, continues without offering any light at the end of the tunnel to the people living in the periphery.

Maybe it is time to rename the Molotov cocktail. Throwing petrol bombs at the police has become a specialty of protesters in Greece.

James Quinn is a senior director of strategic planning for a major university. James has held financial positions with a retailer, homebuilder and university in his 25-year career. Those positions included treasurer, controller, and head of strategic planning. He is married with three boys and is writing these articles because he cares about their future. He earned a BS in accounting from Drexel University and an MBA from Villanova University. He is a certified public accountant and a certified cash manager. Visit The Burning Platform for news, commentary and humor.

My solution; reset the entire world’s finances! Cancel all debt, public and private and start everyone at zero debt! Perfect time of the year for it too. Christmas shopping will be huge, people will be spending again. There are no excuses because everyone; businesses, individuals, governments, suppliers, etc, are starting from zero.

Unfortunately, due to the greed and ignorance of the elite, this will never happen! I know it will work. There will be a few stipulations; such as zero credit card debt but starting with your same beginning credit limit.

For all of this to work though, it must include everyone and every nation. THINK ABOUT IT!

Sam wood

cancel all debt and hang the bankers…simple dont you think?

Alan

Usury should always have been illegal and punishable by death. But people with all the money (the bankers) bought off the politicians to change the laws that govern us.

SKIP

Usury is and always has been illegal I think and many a mafiosi is in prison for such but when banks do it it is called “interest”

http://www.infowars.com Anon

Let’s pray, that the Communist Central Bankers don’t destroy Amerika, like they did Russia, and the Romanov Dynasty:

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